Warriors Movie Summary: Dubs relies on stingy defense and just enough offense to fend off the Rockets' furious charge

If you look at the lineups the Houston Rockets fielded late in the game against the Golden State Warriors, you'll notice the glaring absence: no Alperen Şengün, their emerging center on an All-Star course. So why, you might ask, did the Rockets bench arguably their best player? The answer is simple: Because the Warriors' defense completely took Şengün out of the Rockets' offense, while simultaneously highlighting his compromising presence in the Rockets' defense.

Şengün only played 20 minutes and 38 seconds. While scoring 14 points on 5 of 10 shooting might not seem like a damning statistic, the Rockets were outnumbered by seven points in those minutes. That can't hold a candle to the 20 points they outscored in Jalen Green's 33 minutes, 42 seconds, but a closer look at why the Rockets had a difficult time with their big man provides a clearer answer .

Consider the Warriors' approach to defensive play under the tutelage of assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse:

Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis corralled Fred VanVleet and caught him on the sideline. But more importantly, Draymond Green's location is remarkable. He parks himself in the “nail” area (near the middle of the free throw line) to cover two possibilities:

1. A short roll pass to Şengün, who has a long runway ahead of him as Green isn't worried about his ability to shoot the ball.
2. A skip pass to Jabari Smith Jr. on the weak side – which Green can certainly intercept.

Therefore, the fact that Şengün set up the screens – especially when they are placed close to the side – is an automatic trigger for the Warriors to send two to the ball, back up behind the double and others that don't Şengün or Green means leaving the evaluation or decision-making. With the Rockets lacking trustworthy decision-making and screeners who can act as floor stretchers, the Warriors have plenty of room for such aggressive coverages and helped them build a 71-47 halftime lead over the Rockets.

Fast forward to the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter – where the lead has narrowed to 13 points, a minuscule number in today's NBA. The Rockets pushed Shengün completely to the bench and opted to field their small lineup, which is not only switchable on defense but also mobile and more versatile on offense. In addition, the nature of their ball-screen actions has also changed, in the sense that it is no longer a sluggish 6-foot-2 center who does not have the ability to stretch the floor, but rather a 1.85 meter tall mobile foursome who can shoot the ball.

If it's a small-to-small/wing pick-and-roll, such an action should theoretically be reversed. Any two-on-the-ball coverage opens up the possibility of a pop or ghost drifting past the three-point line, leaving the screen wide open – as happens below when Smith sets up the screen for Aaron Holiday:

A mistimed coverage by Jonathan Kuminga and Lindy Waters III left Smith open – and shrunk the lead to 10 points, a value that would eventually shrink to zero as the final buzzer of regulation sounded. What was once a 31-point lead was blown away, in large part due to the Rockets' personnel and ball-screening adjustments against the aggressive attacks, but also because the Warriors' offense was stifled by the Rockets' strong transition.

Therefore, at the start of overtime, Steve Kerr opted for a lineup consisting of Podziemski, Andrew Wiggins, Kuminga, Kyle Anderson and Kevon Looney. Due to the substitution of the latter two, the lineup was by no means particularly mobile – but it still retained a significant degree of substitution ability despite the absence of Draymond Green, who committed a foul in regulation time. The frontcourt wasn't blessed with speed or pogo-stick athleticism either – but Wiggins and Kuminga filling the wing slots gave them just enough size and length to hinder shots on defense while keeping smaller and/or slower defenders on the line to overwhelm the other side. With Stephen Curry and De'Anthony Melton unavailable, Podziemski was considered the ball-handler and primary decision-maker on the field.

So look at how the Warriors attack the Rockets' switch-everything system after Smith's miss in the third period until the opening of overtime – glimpses of this were seen in regular time, where Kuminga and Wiggins were in advantageous matchups and then attacked this force with attacks:

When Kuminga finally gets the match he wants with Jalen Green, he moves him closer to the box and – despite last-second help and resistance from Amen Thompson – manages to create enough space for a turnaround fader.

That's not to say the Warriors were blessed with a few lucky misses from the Rockets. What should have been a clear switch turns into an open three-pointer from VanVleet that misses – which the Warriors can't recover, giving up one of 18 offensive boards the Rockets tallied, accounting for 35.4% of their misses. Another Smith miss saves the Warriors, and this time Looney records the defensive rebound – allowing Kuminga to run down the field:

Shortly thereafter, the Warriors encountered another problem. With Podziemski fouled, Kerr runs out of ball handlers and decision makers. He has no choice but to send Buddy Hield in Podziemski's place. Although Hield lacks ball-handling and playmaking skills – and although he has developed a reputation for being a subpar, if not “okay” defender – he manages to hold his own and do his job when Jalen Green mentors him chasing a change.

(Completed by a classic slo-mo Eurostep from Anderson):

After a timeout, the Warriors are unable to get Kuminga to a favorable one-on-one match. Smith ends up guarding him on the edge – but Kuminga catches Smith with his right foot as he leads out. Smith does an admirable job trying to mobilize his hips in time to stay in front, but Kuminga proves too quick and deflects the corner for a layup.

Despite lacking what normally defines the Warriors' offense (curry, ball-handling, connectors) and what normally holds their defense together (Draymond Green), the Warriors were able to produce just enough offense to separate themselves from the Rockets – and avert disaster , which was commonplace last season. Coming into this young season, defense was their calling card, and it was defense that sealed the victory against the Rockets.

Refusal to bend at the point of attack and enter a state of terrible rotation was a focus – and that was clearly highlighted below:

Despite the near-collapse, the Warriors still rank second in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions (101.0), just behind the Oklahoma City Thunder (95.1). They still lead the league in deflections per game (23.0) and total deflections (138), although their lead has shrunk in both categories. Nonetheless, after seasons where identity has been difficult to find and constant personnel turnover has often been the death knell, it is a nice change to see this new iteration of the squad solidify themselves in the face of adversity by bolstering their defensive intensity in time.